Grace Greater Than All Our Sin

Under pressure there are not many limits to what we are capable of doing. I kept thinking about this while meditating on Mark 14 today. In that chapter the chosen one, Peter, affirms in the strongest possible language that he would never deny Jesus. “Even if I have to die I will not deny you.” Those are the words of a fanatic. They are also words of the foolish. Jesus said as much when he put a stop to Peter’s grandiose assertions with the blunt truth that the sun would not come up in the morning before Peter offered up denials thrice, a sad prophecy fulfilled.


Mark 14 is a mirror. It works best if I hold it up, allow the light to get just right, and gaze intently on the reflection. I’ve been there. Guilty of thinking some behaviors were beyond my ability. Too much confidence and too much foolishness kept me from this honest assessment: without dependence on the grace and strength found in Christ I am capable of anything and everything I hope to avoid. Even the Apostle Paul said something very similar. What makes me any better than Paul?


I would like to think that if I were in Peter’s place I would have acted differently. But I know it’s not true. Take the pointed words of some “servant girl,” mix in a bit of peer pressure, and add a splash of desperation and I’ve got sin soup. I wish it were different, but given the right circumstances I have no confidence in my abilities. At such moments I remember the words of Jude for weak and weary souls, “To Him who is able to keep you from falling.”


Just today I read a news report of “Deacon Bill” who was arrested for bringing contraband, read that as drugs, into a prison. Bill was the chaplain. He plead not guilty because he claims he didn’t know what was in the envelope he passed to a prisoner. But the story gets worse. Deacon Bill claims the prisoners were blackmailing him because they knew he had pornography on his home computer. A claim now verified by law enforcement. Actually, law enforcement reported the pornography was of the legal kind, but I don’t think that will matter much with Bill’s church. I could give examples as long as you have time to read, but it would only underscore the same reality: our darker capabilities are inexhaustible.


Instead I want to offer hope. Peter’s denials were yield signs not stop signs, commas not periods, failure but not final. The broken man at the end of Mark 14 is the same as the bold man of Acts 2. What made the difference? The simple answer is found in two words: repentance and relationship. Repentance means Peter came to terms with the reality of his actions, the "wrongness" of what he had done. But it was the relationship that carried him through. The same Jesus who told Peter of his failures before the crucifixion also encouraged Peter after the resurrection. The love and stability of the relationship is what made the difference. 


Understand that what I'm writing about works in two directions. It is part prevention and part cure. The relationship may prevent us from choosing wrong, but if we take the wrong path anyway it will be that same relationship, mixed with repentance, that will bring us through. There is a word for this. It's called grace.